Foreigners visit India for the purpose of Tourism, Business, Medical treatment, Employment, Study on Yoga, Vedic culture, Indian system of Dance & Music, Research and others. Every foreigner who visits India has to possess a valid Passport and Visa issued to them by the India mission abroad. Tourist visa and other types of visas are issued to the foreigners by India Mission located abroad. Foreign Nationals coming to India are required to possess a genuine and valid national passport or any other internationally recognized travel document establishing his/her nationality and identity and bearing photograph of the foreigner. Nepal and Bhutan nationals if entering India by land or air from the Nepal or Bhutan border respectively do not require a passport for entering into India. However, they are required to possess, authorized identity proof. Further if they are entering India from a place other than their own country then possession of their national passport is a must.

General Instructions For Registration by the Foreigners.

Any Hotel/ Guest House/ Dharmashala/Individual House/ University/ Hospital/ Institute/ Others etc. who provide accommodation to foreigners must submit the details of the residing foreigner in Form C to the Registration authorities within 24 hours of the arrival of the foreigner at their premises. This will help the registration authorities in locating and tracking the foreigners. This document provides the functionality of registration process of Hotel/ Guest House/ Dharmashala/Individual House / University/ Hospital/ Institute/ Others etc. owners for Form-C

Form-C

FSIS (Foreign Students Information System) is used to capture information about foreign nationals admitted in Indian educational institutions. It is mandatory for all educational institutions in India admitting foreign students for various courses to register themselves first. After their user-id approved by the competant authority i.e. FRRO/FRO conerned, the said institution will be able to fill the details of foreign students in FSIS.

Form S

Foreigners of Indian Origin

Person Of Indian Origin (PIO)

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Cardholder

OCI Miscellaneous Services for registered OCIs

Liability of production of Registration Certificate.

Every registered foreigner shall produce his certificate of registration for inspection on demand by any registration officer, magistrate or police officer (not below the rank of head constable), within twenty-four hours (which can be extended if sufficient cause is shown). If the Registration Officer, magistrate or police officer, not being below the rank of an Inspector is of the opinion that the passport or other documents of identification produced by the foreigner do not furnish adequate proof of identity and if the registration certificate does not bear the photograph or finger impressions/signatures, he may be asked to produce four copies of passport size photograph, four complete sets of his finger impressions/signatures, one of which shall be made on the Registration Certificate. The finger impression/signatures shall be made in the presence of the Registration Officer and each set attested by him. Every foreigner shall within twenty-four hours of demand being made of him by any Registration Officer, magistrate or police officer, not below the rank of a head constable, which can be extended in case of sufficient cause shown by the foreigner, shall produce, at such place as may be specified, his passport or such other proof of his identity. Every foreigner entering India shall, on demand by the registration Officer, deliver his passport or other proof of identity to that officer and shall thereafter attend at such time and place as the Registration Officer may direct for the purpose of receiving back his passport and shall be entitled to receive a receipt for it from the Registration Officer.

Change in Registered address:

At the time of lodging an application for registration of visa the foreigner should furnish his address in India and which is known as his registered address. Whenever the foreigner shifts his residence, he should intimate the same to Foreigner’s Registration Officer and also intimate the same to the FRO of his new residence. Based on the enquiry report his registration documents will be forwarded to the new FRO. In case of his return to old address, it should be informed to the FRO the date of return. Any change made subsequently should also be intimated to the Registration Officer.

Reports of other changes except address:

Every foreigner is required to furnish to the Registration Officer of the district in which his registered address is situated, particulars of any circumstances affecting in any manner the accuracy of the particulars recorded in his certificate of registration within fourteen days after the circumstance has occurred, and generally shall provide to the Registration Officer all information as may be necessary for maintaining the accuracy of the certificate.

Duplicate Certificate of Registration..

If any certificate of registration, issued under these rules is lost or destroyed, the foreigner to whom it was issued, shall make or send to the Registration Officer of the district of his registered address a report of circumstances is which it was so lost or destroyed together with an application in writing for the issue of a duplicate copy of the certificate of registration.

Report to be made by Hotel Keepers.

Every keeper of a hotel shall require every visitor to the hotel to furnish the particulars necessary for recording, and sigh, on his arrival at the hotel, his name and nationality in a register maintained for the purpose in Hotel Register and, if any such visitor is a foreigner shall further require him.

(a) On his arrival at such hotel to furnish the other particulars specified in items 4 to 10 of the said register and

(b) At the time of his departure from such a hotel to furnish the particulars necessary for recording in the said register, the date and time of his departure and the address to which he is proceeding.

The prescribed Hotel Register shall at all time be made available for inspection, on the demand of the Registration Officer, any magistrate or any police officer not below the rank of head constable.

Every particular, other than the signature of the keeper of a hotel or a visitor, which is required to be recorded in the said register, shall be recorded by the keeper of the English language or otherwise, in an Indian language.

It shall be duty of the keeper of the hotel, if so requested to explain to the visitor the requirements of doing the same.

The keeper of the hotel shall, as soon as it may be but not more that twenty four hours, after the arrival of any foreigner, transmit a copy of duty completed Form C to he Registration Officer (copies of Form C can be obtained, from any Registration Officer on application).

(a) “Hotel” includes any boarding-house, club, dak-banglow, rest house, paying guest, sarai or other premises of like nature.

(b) “Keeper of a hotel” means the person having the management of a hotel and includes any person authorized by the keeper, and competent to perform the duties of the keeper of the hotel.

(c) “Sign” includes, in respect of a visitor who is unable to write, the making of a thumb impression or other mark by means of which he is accustomed to attest a document and

(d) “Visitor” means a person for whom accommodation is provided at a hotel.

Reporting of Occupation of Houses

If a foreign tourist is occupying houses on rental basis the house owner is obliged to report the details to the police authorities concerned within 24 hours of occupation. The foreigner should ensure that house owner has intimated the same to police authorities. All Foreigners who are visiting Odisha are requested to abide by the above rules and regulations positively and violations of above conditions and overstay will be treated as an offence and will be punished as per the relevant rules prevailing in India.

Loss of Passport and Visa

If the passport of the foreigner is irrecoverably lost he should report the same to the nearest police station, and obtain a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) in the case of theft or a certificate if it is lost otherwise. The foreigners should obtain new passport/emergency certificate from their missions in India. Before leaving India the foreigner should seek an exit permit from the Chief Immigration Officer, Madras or from the Foreigner's Regional Registration Officers of Mumbai, Kolkata or New Delhi and produce the same at the port of embarkation.

Extension of Visa

Tourist visas are non-extendable. Therefore the tourist (foreigner) should leave India on or before the expiry of the validity of the visa. But the tourist visa having duration of Three months are eligible for an extension of an additional Three months by Foreigner's Registration Officer, subject to the payment of the required fee. However in emergent situations the State Government can grant an extension of 15 days.

VISA Services

Conversion of Visa

The foreigners, who come to India on the strength of a tourist visa are not eligible to convert the tourist visa into any other type of visas, and are not eligible to engage any other activities other than tourism.

Over stay

In the event of overstay foreigner is liable for prosecution under Foreigners Act 1946 and imprisonment up to 5 years with fine & expulsion from India.

Surrender of certificates of registration on departure

Every foreigner who is about to depart finally from India shall surrender his certificate of registration either to the Registration Officer of the place where he is registered or of the place from where he intends to depart or to the Immigration Officer at the Port/Check post of exit at the time of final departure from India. If the certificate is surrendered other than to the Immigration Officer of the port or check post of exit, a receipt indicating such surrender of the document may be obtained and shown to the Immigration Officer at the time of final departure. If the registration documents issued by the foreigner’s Registration Officer to the foreigner are valid, he/she can leave India simply on production of the confirmed ticket to the port authorities concerned (after surrendering the registration document to the port).